A very large percentage of the 3472 Sundays that I’ve been around for have been spent worshiping in some form or other at the Salvation Army. In that time, of course, the form of worship has changed quite a bit – but it is still very much of the same tradition.
Faith
Discovery
This week would have been my turn to give a short ‘thought’ at the end of band rehearsal and given that we are not having rehearsals at the moment I have been asked to deliver it at our zoom get together instead. This is a new experience!
Ways To Go Beyond
A follow up, in a way, to Science and Spiritual Practices.
Science And Spiritual Practices : Reconnecting through direct experience
Anyone who has trawled through this large list of “books I have read” will notice that there are some authors who appear frequently – Neal Stephenson, Terry Pratchett, Robert Harris – and others – and amongst the ‘serious” books are many by Rupert Sheldrake. There is a lot of repetition and cross-over within his books – but that is not surprising as what he is really outlining in all of them is his journey towards a very original worldview – and one that I, for one, can take on board as being not too far from my own.
Who Ties The String?
One of the recurring themes of my posts here (the most recent is Someone Is Pulling The Strings Again) is my thoughts on the applicability of the “Red Thread of Fate” – East Asian folklore that is specifically about the way in which we are “bound” to our soulmate, but which I see as a useful metaphor for the way in which we are “connected” to each other in a multitude of ways (perhaps there out to be more colours to denote the ‘nature’ of the connection! We could then have a rainbow world – in whatever dimension that thread resides!!!)
On Morality
When it comes to “right” or “wrong” it seems that, increasingly, there is a continuum from one extreme to the other and little agreement as to where in that long line any particular thing resides. Even the most heinous of acts can – from some perspectives – have some aspect of ‘good’ about them. Equally – something done with the best of intentions can be portrayed as evil – if the ‘wrong’ slant is put on it.
Memories Of The Future
Now, another facet of the mystery of memories comes from what was the kids story on Sunday Morning. Here the children were asked to imagine where they might be, or wanted to be, in ten years time. A variation on “what do you want to be when you grow up”.
Memories
I expect that if I checked back every single post in this blog has been triggered by something quite specific – even if the posts themselves are only referring obliquely to that trigger. This post is certainly no exception. Anyone who has read the other posts will realise that the way we ‘see’ the world is something that is important in my own personal weltanschauung and that is, at least partially – perhaps fully – shaped by our memories and experiences.
Invulnerability
In the 18th Century Benjamin Franklin famously said that “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” – many of us go through much of our life paying much attention to taxes, but paying scant attention to death.
Understanding Backwards
It was Søren Kierkegaard who said that (and I paraphrase) life can only be understood backwards however we must live it forwards. Although I have been aware of that quote for quite some time it is only recently that I have begun to understand the real nature and truth of it.